The Knight of Light plants the sun in the eternal night.

Chapter 149 Hill City

The White Rose Kingdom is located in the southeastern corner of the Eternal Night Continent, where fifteen kingdoms stand side by side.

There are eight countries that border the Kingdom of White Rose.

To the north lies the border kingdom, and the Grand Duchy of Crescent Vine, which is surrounded by both countries.

To the west are the Kingdom of Springs, the Kingdom of Fertile Soil, and the Principality of Blackbird, which has declared independence but has not yet been recognized.

To the south lie the Kingdom of Peace, the United Kingdom of Two Cities, and the Barbarian Tribe.

To the east — lies the vast ocean.

With a whoosh, a parchment map was spread out, and Leo, in the makeshift camp, pondered as he looked at the map.

The shape of the White Rose Kingdom resembles a hexagon.

A mountain range resembling a ">" symbol divides the kingdom in two. To the east of the ">" symbol are two great rivers: the Danube River, the River of Light, in the south, and the Steam Whistle River, which eventually flows into the Danube.

The Firefly Wilderness is located upstream on the Whistle River, in the northeastern part of the kingdom.

The Hill City, which the Glowing Mushroom Knights are heading to, is located to the west of the ">" symbol. It is a vast plateau, and Hill City is situated at the northernmost edge of this plateau, near the northern border kingdom.

"Tomorrow we will cross the Bow Mountain. The terrain is rugged and treacherous, and the dimly lit road is intermittent. Each of your knight squads must be on guard against attacks from shadow monsters at all times."

The Baron traced the map with his fingers, making arrangements for the Knights' next journey.

Those present in the tent were all captains of various knight squads, except for Leo. Although he was not a captain, he was the Baron's own son and had been following the Baron to learn how to command the knight order.

The Baron has confirmed that he will support Leo's entrepreneurial endeavors.

In other words, perhaps one day, Leo will also raise a knightly order, so he needs to accumulate experience now.

"If we run out of supplies on the way over the mountains, we'll use the provisions on the packhorses, which will also lighten their load," the Baron continued. "Once we cross the Bow Mountains and enter the last city in the North—Awful Valley—we'll resupply there and then proceed at full speed until we reach Hillstown."

"Yes, sir!"

After receiving their orders, the team leaders returned to their respective camps for a meal.

Leo stayed with the Baron and enjoyed the Baron's meals—even during the march, the Baron's food was very plentiful.

Moreover, they are all made from various fresh ingredients.

Leo could see clearly that these supplies were not transported by packhorses, but rather appeared out of thin air by the Baron.

no doubt.

The Baron also possessed a secret treasure—the Philosopher's Stone.

Moreover, it shouldn't be the small Philosopher's Stone that Leo has, but rather a medium or even large one. Philosopher's Stones are made by alchemists, and given the wealth of the Glowing Fungus family, they could still buy one if they had all the materials.

"How does it feel to be on your first march?" the baron asked gently as the father and son dined together.

The argument we had a while ago has long since faded away.

After all, there's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between a father and son.

"Not bad." Leo nodded, his expression a mixture of excitement and regret. He was excited about the war itself, but regretful that the flower language couldn't be triggered.

The Knights couldn't stop and wait for him to find the meaning of the flowers, so Leo could only keep his head down and move forward, ignoring the warm guidance.

After a while, the warmth dissipates, and then it's like entering a cooling-off period, requiring half a day to trigger the next flower meaning.

He asked, "Father, how many wars have you participated in?"

The Baron remained silent.

After a long pause, he finally began to calculate: "Once, twice, three times — well, actually this is the first time."

"Huh?" Leo exclaimed in surprise, "Father, is this your first time on the battlefield?"

"When I was a child, there were a few minor border skirmishes in the kingdom, and your grandfather went to the battlefield because of them. Who knew that after that, the kingdom would be peaceful, and I would spend my days hunting shadow monsters."

"Father, was Grandfather also a Beast Knight? How did he die?" Leo asked another question.

The Baron sighed, "The phantom beast has backfired."

"Backlash from the phantom beast?" Leo asked, puzzled.

"Your grandfather's talent wasn't very good. When he contracted the phantom beast, the Grand Knight's cultivation wasn't yet complete, and he used some tricks. As a result, the phantom beast died prematurely, causing your grandfather to suffer a backlash and pass away a few years later."

"Is that even possible?"

"Of course," the Baron said. "There are countless paths to transcendence. Knights and priests are just the most orthodox, peaceful, and safest paths. Other paths can also lead to transcendence, but they will have hidden dangers."

After a pause, the Baron felt that Leo had grown up and there was no need to hide anything anymore, so he said, "Your grandfather used the blood pact method."

The Blood Pact technique refers to using magical creatures such as phantom beasts and spirit insects to forcibly strip the other party of their power and transfer it to oneself, thereby promoting one's cultivation and advancing to a higher level. While it can break through shackles, it can also suffer backlash.

Especially mythical beasts, which originally had long lifespans, could help knights prolong their lives.

However, after using the blood pact, the lifespan of the phantom beast may be greatly reduced. If the phantom beast dies prematurely as a result, the knight will naturally not live long either.

"I see."

"Leo".

"What's wrong, Father?"

"I'm telling you these secrets so you'll remember that you must never forcibly contract a phantom beast before your cultivation is complete. Otherwise, the calamity that befell your grandfather will befall you, and even the holy light cannot protect you."

"I understand." Leo nodded. He was confident in this much. With the mark of the sun, he didn't need to use methods like blood pacts.

He wants to contract mythical beasts honorably, and in the future, he wants to ride dragons honorably.

Over the next two days, the Glowing Mushroom Knights traversed the Bow Mountain Range, where the most challenging part involved climbing steep rock faces.

The knight had to dismount and use ropes to hoist his horse up the rock face.

From daylight to night, and then from nightlight to daylight, the knights didn't even bother setting up camp. They barely ate any dry rations before continuing their journey. Eventually, they traversed the mountains with incredible speed, without needing to take detours and waste time.

Six days have passed since I received the conscription order.

For the remaining four days, the Knights could finally take a break and set up camp in cities or noble territories along the way.

You can spend money to buy food.

Finally, on October 12th, the day before the deadline for the conscription order, Leo on horseback saw the city that never sleeps in the distance—Hill City.

It was a mountain that was cut off halfway up, leveled, and then the city was built on top of it.

From a distance, it looks as if the upper half of the mountain is a giant light bulb, illuminating the surrounding hilltops and valleys. The light is abrupt and jarring, without any apparent source; it's as if the light is piercing through a crack in the sky.

There was no sunlight.

It also resembled a cloudy day, with the entire hill city enveloped in diffused light, vaguely as if shrouded in a layer of mist.

"Is that the city that never sleeps?"

"Hill City, it's said that the royal white dragon slew a fourth-tier void beast, skinned it, and built this city on its corpse!"

"Where did this light come from?"

"Praise be to the holy light!"

"Full speed ahead, we're heading into the city!" the Baron shouted, leading the Glowing Mushroom Knights at full speed towards the City That Never Sleeps.

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